THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC HAS BEEN AT WAR WITH US SINCE 1979: Declassified Interrogation Reports Show How Much Iran Shaped Iraq War.

Iran and the U.S. have been vying for influence in Iraq. Throughout the Iraq war, Iran sought to influence the Shia-dominated government in Iraq, often to the detriment of the Sunni minority.

Iran also provided arms and training to Shiite militias, U.S. officials say, so they could attack U.S. forces and pressure them to leave the country. U.S. forces left in 2011 after President Barack Obama and then-Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki failed to reach an accord to allow American troops to stay.

According to a June 18, 2007, interrogation report, Mr. Khazali said the training was carried out by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps at three bases near Tehran, including the Imam Khomeini base, which Mr. Khazali said he had visited.

“There are Iranians and Lebanese Hezbollah conducting the training at these bases,” the report said, based on interrogation. “The Iranians are experts in full scale warfare while the Lebanese are experts in urban or guerrilla warfare.”

Bush’s failure to deal sharply with Tehran when it first became known they were killing Coalition forces has led to all kinds of nasty ripple effects ever since.